Delhi: Humayun’s Tomb Complex
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Humayun’s Tomb To Get Back Its Crown Jewels
ASI And Aga Khan Trust Will Rebuild The Tiles On Eight Canopies Of The Sixteenth Century Monument, In The Original Colours And Using The Original Blueprints Richi Verma | TNN
World heritage site Humayun’s Tomb is all set to regain its lost architectural marvels. The eight canopies on the dome of the 16th century monument — which originally had striking blue, yellow and green colour tiles — will be restored as per the original Mughal design and architecture.
Experts said that the process of rebuilding the tiles was a very long process and involved detailed studies aimed at understanding the original design and composition of the Mughal-era tiles.
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) director-general K N Shrivastava said: ‘‘We are going to reconstruct the original blue tile work on the canopies of the monument. Since the monument is a world heritage site, we will have to keep Unesco updated about the plan and also about the progress of the conservation work. Under the principles of conservation, monuments have to be conserved according to the original design and shape. Reconstructing the lost blue tile work is a structural requirement of the tomb.’’
According to ASI officials, the smaller canopies on the roof of the tomb were originally decorated with ceramic tiles in lapis blue, turquoise blue, green, white and yellow as was the tradition at that time. ‘‘These striking colours were highlighted by the contrasting milky whiteness of the marble dome in the background. During the early 19th century, most of the original tiles started peeling off. Only traces of them remain today,’’ said a senior ASI official.
Experts said that traces of tile work that remained have helped reveal the original pattern, and laboratories in Roorkee, Oxford and Barcelona have tested the tile samples. ‘‘An international workshop — co-sponsored by Unesco and ASI — on conservation of Humayun’s Tomb tile work was held in April 2009 to discuss, debate and find possible solutions for conservation of tiles on the tomb’s canopies, including restoration of the missing tile work,’’ added officials. About 40 participants from nine tile producing countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan participated in the workshop.
According to historians, tile work is a significant element in several Lodhi and early Mughal period structures and remnants of tile work can be seen on several monuments in Delhi. However, the tile-making traditions followed by the Mughals have been lost over the centuries and hence very little in conservation terms could be done when the tiles have fallen, vandalised or simply gone missing.
Tile work is a significant architectural element, and it also protects the underlying surface. The loss of tile work severely disfigures the historic architectural character/integrity of the monument.
‘‘Conservation of existing tile work should be a priority at all sites and efforts should be made to minimise further loss of the original tiles. Any new tile work that will replace missing tiles should match the original ones in colour, texture, composition and other physical and chemical properties and the conservation work should respect the original patterns,’’ said Ratish Nanda of Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).
AKTC will also train youths of Nizamuddin Basti to produce Mughalstyle tiles and to preserve tile-making traditions in the country.
The conservation work at the Humayun’s Tomb is part of a publicprivate partnership between the ASI, AKTC, Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Aga Khan Foundation.
Some months ago, ASI and AKTC officials had removed a thick layer of cement concrete from the roof of the mausoleum. The concrete was putting a pressure of about 10 lakh kilos on the structure. This layer that had been added to the monument during the British rule to prevent water seepage also blocked the water drainage channels on the roof, leading to accumulation of rainwater causing considerable damage to the monument.
Making History Again
The eight canopies on Humayun’s Tomb were originally covered with ceramic tiles in lapis blue, turquoise blue, green, white and yellow Tile-making techniques used by the Mughals have been lost over the centuries and very little in terms of conservation has been done when the tiles have been vandalised, fallen or simply gone missing.
Traces of the original tile work on the canopies of Humayun’s Tomb helped reveal the original pattern of the tiles Built in Mughal emperor Humayun’s memory in 1562 by his widow Hamida Begum, Humayun’s Tomb was the first structure to use red sandstone on such a large scale and also the first garden-tomb in the Indian subcontinent. It was given Unesco world heritage status in 1993
1992: Status of “World Heritage Site” by UNESCO
The Times of India, Jul 15 2015
Richi Verma
More than 20 years after Humayun's Tomb was declared a world heritage site, six other monuments around it have been covered in the same glory . This has been made possible by a boundary clarification and retrospective recognition for the other monuments within the complex as “contemporary 16th-century garden tombs within the property forming a unique ensemble.“
After the statement issued by Unesco, a United Nations agency , Nila Gumbad, Afsarwala Complex, Isa Khan's garden tomb, Bu Halima garden tomb and Arab ki Serai are officially part of the World Heritage site. The heritage zone of the complex has thus more than doubled from 26 acres to 54 acres, and its buffer zone has also increased.
The decision was made last week in a session of the World Heritage Committee held in Bonn, Germany . An Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) official said the 11-acre Batashewala complex where conservation was recently completed is now in the buffer zone. So are Sundarwala Mahal and Sundarwala Burj inside Sunder Nursery and Sabz Burj on Mathura Road.
The decision came after ASI suggested in its periodic reporting to Unesco that the integrity and authenticity of the World Heritage site were a result of Humayun's Tomb being an ensemble of contemporary garden-tombs. “Unesco New Delhi welcomes the formalization by the World Heritage Committee of the World Heritage Site property boundaries to in clude six additional gardentombs in the Humayun's Tomb complex on the basis of the revised statement of outstanding value,“ said Moe Chiba, programme specialist for culture at Unesco's Delhi office.“It is a significant achievement and provides due acknowledgement to the years of conservation effort at Humayun's Tomb. This will serve as a basis of improved site management to meet World Heritage objectives and enhanced visitor experience. Ratish Nanda, project director, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which is working on an elaborate urban conservation project in Humayun's Tomb complex since 2007, said: “This ratification of the boundary proposed by the ASI and recognition of the site being an ensemble allows steps to be taken for its effective management as well as future extension to include other contemporary 16th-century structures within the World Heritage property .
According to the Unesco website, the 1992 nomination by India mentioned only Humayun's Tomb, listing its significant architectural elements. As a result, the recognition was only granted to the garden-tomb, and other monuments outside the 26acre property were included in its buffer zone. World Heritage Committee meeting documents now recognize, “Humayun's Tomb and the other contemporary 16th-century garden tombs within the property form a unique ensemble of Mughal-era garden-tombs.The monumental scale, architectural treatment and garden setting are outstanding in Islamic garden-tombs. The Unesco statement for inclusion of the six monuments in the World Heritage list also recognized that “Humayun's Tomb and its surrounding structures are substantially in their original state and conservation works have been of high quality--carried out using traditional materials such as lime mortar to recover authenticity by removal of 20th-century materials such as concrete.
